All rights reserved!
Story by Michael Celestine Echezona.

Email... [email]michaelcelestine90@gmail.com[/email]

Website...[url]thereadersville..com[/url]

Okadabooks.com...[url]http://okadabooks.com/book/about/the_endless_knot_part_one/1091
[/url]
SYNOPSIS:

The life we live today is always a product of our past that even when we try so much not to dwell on the mistakes of our pasts, they somehow manage to creep into our present, making a little mess of all that we hold dear. Such is the case of Mary whose strive for repentance and salvation was halted by the resurrection of her pasts. and on the move to protect her new life, she finds herself returning to the monster she was running away from.

[center]CHAPTER ONE[/center]

The atmosphere of the room was gay which was hatched by the soft music emanating from the Compact Disc Player down the lounge as Duke and his family sat round a glass table at the dinning for the last Sunday of the month dinner; a tradition Donald, Duke's father created in the family since he got married to Kate; his wife of thirty-two years. Kate had set the table with the help of Evelyn her only daughter and last child. She served the popular native edikang ikong soup she prepared herself as ordered by her children as against rice. They had said the grace and got served by Evelyn. As Duke ate the soup, his mind travelled back to what he had heard people say about mother's soup. A friend had once told him that no soup tastes better than mother's soup; he did not doubt neither did he believe because to him the sweetness cannot be constant, but he was once proved wrong as he gobbled yet another soup prepared by his mother alongside his father, his elder brother Paul, and his younger sister. They ate in silence as Duke marvelled on how and what really was the secret behind the soup’s saccharinity. He had eaten edikang ikong soup many times, both at the restaurant and at home; as his fiancée prepares it almost every Wednesday night, but none could correlate to what was in front of him. He thought for a while and when he could no longer hold it, he broke the silence.
"Mum." He called, drawing not just his mother's attention but that of everybody. "Tell me the truth, is there something extra special you spice this soup with?" He asked looking directly into her eyes.
Kate smiled at her son, to her that was an extol of a proud son. "Is that your way of telling me you're enjoying the meal?" She retorted looking at Duke.
Duke knew that instant that his mother had taken his question to mean something else. He was going to say thank you anyway but for now all he wanted was to find the secret behind the good meal; perhaps enlighten his fiancé. He was about explaining to his mother that he actually meant the question when he heard a bigger voice from the other end of the table.
"Mum I need more soup?" Paul requested. "I need to finish this pounded yam, coupled with the fact that I don't get to eat this kind of extraordinary food every day. My wife prepares hers in the new generation way." He concluded as Evelyn chuckled.
Not saying a word, yet with a smile Kate opened the soup plate on the table; she was shocked, something had gone wrong; she slowly scanned her children one at a time.
"Not I mum." Evelyn said shaking her head in denial. Kate's eyes met with Paul's and he lowered his head. Kate looked into his plate and saw what she was looking for; meat.
"It was dished to be eaten dear." Donald threw in.
Paul became confident; with head raised up he devoured the meat while smiling at his mother who dished soup for him.
"You don’t get to eat too much meat, you are no kid.” She said to Paul as she closed the soup plate.
"Since when is that a snack for only kids?" Paul called out with a mouthful of meat. He swallowed the meat in his mouth quickly. "Meanwhile, I would like to take some home.” He cleaned his mouth with a washcloth.
Duke was watched them with sadness, wishing he could lash them for halting his question.
"Well there's enough for you to take home and have your new generation wife taste the old generation soup." Kate answered and they all laughed. Duke's question got lost in that laughter as he joined in. "I am sure she will bow and marvel at the taste." Kate boasted.
"Certainly she will." Paul said as he continued eating.
The family dinner was never complete without Evelyn sharing a story about the happenings in the Telecommunication Company where she worked. She was about to usher in her story when Duke stood up, she stemmed her speech as everybody beheld Duke. He pushed his chair back; he could see the tension, suspense and expectations on their faces, exactly what he wanted. So he stalled for some minutes picking his teeth with the toothpick he had picked as he stood up.
"Any idea this is my time? I was about initializing my story?" Evelyn asked trying to understand what Duke was aiming at. Duke smiled at her, turned to his mother and smiled.
"I have a better thing to say." He finally quenched the present suspense while building another. Evelyn could not understand what he meant by 'a better thing'. She felt bad for some seconds thinking he circuitously insulted her. She was going to reprimand him for saying that when Duke added, "I am getting married." Evelyn got shocked and so were the rest of the family. Indeed it was 'a better thing', she thought to herself. Donald was very happy. At last, his son has finally found a wife. Kate could not hide the smile on her face which stole the words of her mouth.
"Welcome to the club brother." Paul said, waving his left hand at him while busy taking down the pounded yam. Duke smiled.
Evelyn, who had just graduated and luckily got retained where she did her National Youth Service Programme, knew that things were really changing fast in the house. She needed to start making plans for her marriage too. Left for her, she would have done that a long time ago but owing to her previous experience with men which was not in any way good, she had decided to look before she leap. "Congrats brother." She said trying to hide her emotions. Duke kept smiling sheepishly.
"So who is she and where is she from?" Donald inquired.
"Her name is Mary." Duke started. "She's from Imo State. I met her in my church where she sings with the choir. She is a very devoted Christian, a down to earth lady, very responsible, respectful, hardworking and calm. I just love her."
"Easy oh." Evelyn shouted. "You hit upon all of that in a single girl? She must be an angel." She added and they all laughed.
“An angel from Imo state? I will live to see that.” Paul rhetorically said.
"I am serious." Duke toted up trying to defend his love.
"Is she tall?" The mother asked.
"Average." Duke replied. "But she's okay." He added.
"Oh! She isn't an angel after all." Evelyn giggled hiding her face.
"Of course she is not an angel but she is close enough." Duke defensively said.
"When do we get to see her then?" Donald asked.
"I actually invited her for the dinner tonight. She should be here any moment from now." Duke answered with a smile.
Paul sighed. "First impression reads lateness, so much for an angel." He scoffed and continued with his food.
"Not like that." Duke tried to explain. "She went to the church for choir practice. She will be here..."
The door bell interrupted him and he quickly left without further words. He opened the door and the family could hear him say some sweet words. They automatically knew that "the angel" has pulled in.
"You might want to drop that meat and wash your hands." Evelyn told Paul who was struggling with his meat.
"It's not meat. That is a bone. And drop it. I said I will dish more soup for you to take home with enough meat." Kate reassured.
"Thank you mum, but I am not dropping this because "Duke's angel" is coming." Paul said as he threw the bone into his mouth.
Duke walked in with Mary who was decently dressed in a skirt and a blouse with a scarf tied round her head, concealing almost her ears. Her eyes glittered like emerald yet dimmed like a lantern in a dark tunnel. The expression on her face portrayed a virgin on her first date. She wore a smile which could pass as innocent and immaculate.
"Okay, this is Mary, my wife to be." Duke introduced. Mary genuflected as she greeted them with a royal smile. Paul lifted his head up after dropping the bone on the tray. His eyes met with Mary's. Mary recognized him and instantly swayed off his gaze. “And Mary, meet...”
"What!" Paul interjected. "Is this the angel? I said it, angels are never found in Imo state. Duke, this will never happen!" Paul angrily phonated as everybody stared at him in surprise.

CHAPTER TWO

Mary barely escaped swooping. Regaining her stamina, she unhesitatingly left the house. Duke sprinted after her with a call but she did not heed to. She ran out on the street and before Duke could get to her, she had entered a taxi and took off. Duke morosely turned back to the house. He was rather irate than shocked. He could not understand why his brother would react that way to someone he just met, someone he did not know anything about. The only thought that came to his mind was jealousy. "He is jealous of me." He concluded. "Otherwise there is no other reason why he should kick against an innocent lady whom he just met." He soliloquised as he stomped back. His anger increased with every step he took towards the house. Back in the house, silence became an unwanted visitor who turned to claim ownership of the house. The silence was so chronic that no one heard the cool sound of the music coming out of the Compact Disc Player anymore. Evelyn was more confused than shocked. She knew Paul to be a straightforward person but his action right now was averring otherwise. If at all anyone did not want Duke to get married that would be her; more reason she was confused at his brother's reaction. She wanted to break the silence by asking him what the drama was all about but she recalled that he has bad temper management, and now that he was already provoked by whatever it was, he would not waste a single time throwing plates at her. She knew then that was the reason behind the silence in the room, because even their parents sometimes, were scared of his anger. Donald had one day sworn he did not know where he came from. Evelyn composed herself and joined the silent train.
Kate lumbered around trying to process what just happened. Donald however sat down with some crazy imaginations of how Paul might not be his true son. He had ruined many happy moments of the family in the past and was at it again. Just when he was about telling Paul off, a thought so clear and reasonable hit him. All those happy moments Paul had ruined always turned out to be for the good of the family; like when he kicked against Evelyn’s relationship with a man who later turned out to be a fraud. As an elderly man, he quickly figured this might be one of such. He now developed an interest and attention towards Paul and why he reacted the way he did. He believed there must be a reason, a genuine one. He wanted to ask him but Kate had already beaten him to it.
"What is wrong with you Paul? Why did you scare that innocent girl away?" Kate bellowed.
Paul almost laughed. He couldn't believe the adjective that was used on Mary. Innocent! If only they knew who she was, he thought in his mind.
"Let him be dear." Donald calmly asserted "There must be a reason why he did what he did. Let's try and find out why." He articulated.
The lost confidence in Evelyn suddenly reappeared. Since Paul was calm to their mother's question, she probably could ask anything without getting plates broke on her head.
"Dad! How can you say that? There is no justifiable reason for what he just did!" Evelyn said looking on and off at Paul's face to monitor his emotion. Before she could add another word, she noticed rage in Paul's eyes and quickly swallowed her saliva alongside her unspoken words.
"If you are not going to shut up, go up and sleep, because if you make any silly comment again, I will break your head." Paul angrily said. Evelyn quietly left the dinning and struck camp to the sitting room. As she sat down she saw Duke stomp in with rage.
"Paul! Paul!" Duke belted out. They could hear anger on his voice, the type they never heard before. He has always been a cool guy with passion for smile. But all that coolness and smile just got quenched by his brother's selfish and jealous motivated action.
"What is it you are doing? Why did you react to her that way? A girl you never met." He was already standing on the other side of the table facing Paul.
Donald was a bit relieved when Duke stood far from Paul, because he had feared that with the rage in Duke’s voice, his two sons probably would be on the ground by now bruising themselves. Kate stood panicking with the uncertainty of where the whole thing was heading to. If only she could beat Paul up, she would have been doing that before Duke walked in so as to show him they were not in support of what he did. "You need to calm down." Donald intervened. "There must be a genuine reason for what he did. Let's just find out from him." He concluded.
Duke could not believe his ears. He never thought such words could stem from his father's mouth. How could he even think of such? If he were not around to witness what happened, it would have been a different case, but he was there and he saw it all. He felt like shouting at his father to shut up but even in the midst of his anger, his manners have not eluded him.
"What crime have I committed?" Paul rhetorically asked. Evelyn looked at him like she would a boy who denied touching a chocolate while he has a mouthful of chocolate. She wished he was a kid so she could bring him back to reality with a resounding slap. But since her wish was not near to coming to life, she resorted to the available option. She hissed in a very loud and disgusting way drawing the attention of everybody, and then she moved to the Compact Disc player and turned up the volume a bit. The whole family looked at her; she ignored them as she sat down with her legs crossed.
"I only told you this won't work. I didn't send her away. I didn’t even talk to her." Paul redirected the attention to the dominating issue. "She sent herself away because she felt guilty on seeing me. Guilt pushed her out not me. I never asked her to go." He explained with hope that they’d calm down and reason with him. Duke feigned a smile and sat down; an action that calmed Paul and Donald who hoped he won’t freak out again. So they all sat down.
"Alright continue." Duke calmly said. "Since you now see us as kids gathered for a moonlight tale. Continue. We are very much attentive." He sarcastically said.

... The story continues....

Chapter Three
Paul sighed; he was yet to discern why his younger brother was taking his anger out on him. He wondered why he couldn't just be reasonable and really calmed, giving him room to say all he knew about Mary. Donald could see crave for attention and serenity in Paul's eyes; he could feel him begging Duke silently to calm down.
"Alright. Let's all calm down." Donald interfered. "We all know Paul had ruined a lot of our happy moments in the past." He said.
Paul sharply looked at him in disappointment. Somebody who he thought was on his side had turned against him when he needed him most. He felt like scolding them and leaving that house, leaving everything including his brother to make a mistake he will live to regret. But something kept his buttocks stuck on the chair; something he couldn’t explain. He bent down his head in guilt mixed with disappointment and anger.
"But we cannot overrule the fact that in all those ruined moments," Donald continued. "He was only looking out for our family and the end result always proves that he has the best of our family's interest at heart. So I will plead with us all to judge him from the past experience and allow him explain to us why he did what he did." Donald concluded and looked at Paul who had raised his head like a king after his coronation. Duke scoffed, poured water in the glass cup that was used for the dinner which has not been cleared and gulped it down in one sip.
"This better worth it." Kate said as she sat down supporting her jaw with one of her hands. Evelyn walked up to the dinning but instead of sitting on the chair beside Paul where she had stood up from, she went to sit beside her father. They all settled down staring at Paul, unconsciously playing the role Duke had given them; kids gathered for a moonlight tale. The silence was more tormenting to Duke than the embarrassment his fiancée felt. He might have understood the fact that there was a reason for Paul's attitude towards Mary, but what was really freaking him out was the silence and the suspense Paul has kept them in. The whole family has been silently waiting for Paul to spill out whatever his reason was for his inhospitable action towards his brother’s fiancée, but he seemed not to appreciate the opportunity. Duke scratched his head passing an unspoken message to him that his patience was imminent to its expiry date. Donald coughed reminding him of their wait. Paul however was struggling on the easy and gentle way to present the story so they would believe him.
"I said it," Duke howled. "He has nothing to say. This is sheer wickedness. If something actually happened, why is it taking him ages to say it? Something as terrible as he claimed is not what one can easily forget." He furiously added.
Donald signalled at him to calm down, that whatever it was would be settled as a family just like they always do. But Duke has no patience left in his virtue basket. If only his father could see how much hurt he was feeling at that moment, he would join him in pressuring Paul for a faster explanation. Evelyn watched the drama without daring to say anything.
"Alright Paul" Kate threw in. "Enough of this suspense. This isn't a moonlight tale. Can you just tell us what exactly happened?" She concluded with so much seriousness that Paul felt the rage of her anger in her words.
"Alright" Paul finally broke in. "I really wish things didn't get to this level where I would have to talk bad on your fiancé Duke"
"Well it has." Duke cut in. "You have done worst already. I just hope your explanation worth the embarrassment, because that is where I will get really upset." He said as he poured another glass of water for himself and gulped it down. Evelyn looked at him with shock. "What?" He shouted at her "Are you also going to tell me how bad that is?" He angrily queried. Evelyn shook her head and adjusted her sitting position. She was on his side so she didn't see any reason why he should be angry at her. After all she had nothing to do with Mary leaving the house.
"Enough! Enough of this your madness!" Paul shouted.
Everybody turned at him surprised. He was supposed to be the most calmed one as the issue that was about breaking the family was caused by him, so he has no right shouting at anybody no matter what. Duke was more than shocked because he felt the right to anger at that moment was reserved for him alone.
"She is just a girl who you don't know anything about her background. She is not a girl you should kill yourself or even break your family for. Don't let church fool you. There are more than devils inside the church than there are in the market. Paul added as he stood up. "But if..."
"Son, you have said this before." Donald interrupted him. "You have said it and that was why we sat down quietly since so you can explain to us who this Mary is and why you think she is not right for your brother. Just tell us."
Duke's shocking state of mind doubled. His brother who wronged him was shouting at him. He couldn't believe himself. He was so amazed that he lost his voice. Even when he opened his mouth to talk, nothing came out, yet he could hear every single word that he wanted to say in his mind; he wanted to shout back at him, tell him how jealousy was burning him up and even fight him, but he could not move from his position; courtesy of his position in the family, a younger brother. He figured it was best to leave Paul to his own madness; after all he was neither living in the family house nor with him. He was living fine in his own apartment, so he could marry any girl he felt like with or without Paul’s approval. He bent down his head and leaned on the table.
"Her name is not Mary." Paul’s voice mellowed. "Her name is Funke."
Duke suddenly hoisted his head. His mind flashed back to the second date he had with Mary; a lady, same age with Mary had walked up to them calling her Funke. He recalled that Mary denied the lady with all assurance insisting the girl had mistaken her for someone else. But Duke saw in the lady's eyes a sure and certain look. He could swear the lady knew her from somewhere. He had asked Mary several times after that incidence if her name was Funke but she denied and even got angry that he was taking the words of a stranger over hers. He then concluded that the story his brother was about to tell might be an interestingly revealing one. His brother might truly know Mary and must have had a serious and terrible encounter with her, so he sat up, attentively listened to Paul as he told his story.
"Last year, I had a serious setback in my business. You all know that, but sadly enough, that is the only thing you all know. What caused the downfall was never revealed to you."
"Of course we knew!" Kate cut in. "You told us a business partner made away with your money, and we are still looking for him up till now."
"Then we just found her." Paul said and paused to see the reaction on their faces. They were really shocked, just what he expected.
Evelyn who had been all ears could no longer hold her peace. "You mean Mary was the business partner?" She asked. "She was not factually my business partner, she was my girlfriend."
"What!" Duke shouted. Things were getting tensed and in a very scary way. The more he tried to understand it, the more twisted it gets. "You were in a relationship with Mary?"
"Her name is Funke; I hate to hear her claim such a righteous name." Paul emphasized and after a short pause he continued. "I told you all it was a business partner because I couldn't face the shame and embarrassment of being duped by a girl, a girl I loved. And for your information, I also met her in a church. We started hanging out and then we fell in love or so I thought. After some months I proposed to her. A month after the proposal, she called to tell me that her mother was sick, that she needed five hundred thousand naira for a surgery. Blinded by love and compassion towards a mother in law I never met, I gave her the money."
Duke was astonished at the rate at which the revelation was going. Truly that was Funke. Just few weeks ago, she had called him to demand for two hundred thousand naira for her mother's medical check up. But what he tried to figure out was the fact that she sent him pictures of her mother in a hospital. Maybe she has changed, if at all she lived that kind of life, but nevertheless, he decided to hear the end of the story.
"A five hundred thousand naira loss couldn’t have crumbled your business. What really happened?" Donald asked more concerned about the business than the relationship.
"After everything, she claimed that the hospital demanded for another two hundred thousand naira so as to discharge her mother. I gave her the money. But any time I asked that I follow her to see my prospective mother in law, she will turn me down with flimsy excuses. Things got back to normal and I assumed she was the right woman for me. Two weeks later, I got a call that she was kidnapped and a ransom of six million naira was demanded. I had no choice, I had to pay the money with hopes that I was saving the mother of my unborn children. It didn’t stop there, ransom came after ransom, they continued that way until I spent roughly twenty million naira on her, which was after selling almost everything I had. Then she got released, came back home and we were happy to have each other back, at least so I thought. Two days later I was out for business which at that time was going down the drain in a race and when I came back, she was gone, gone with every of her property that was in my house. She must have changed her phone number that instant because her line never went through. I checked her house and her neighbours said she moved out. Now here she is, trying to do to you exactly what she did to me. I am not going to let that happen to you." Paul concluded his long narrative story with a mindset that his brother would make sense out of it.
Duke was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe all that he had heard. His brother truly was fighting for the good interest of the family just as their father had said. The whole family was quite, dumbstruck and shocked from the truth revealing story they just heard. Duke's phone started ringing and he looked at it; it was Mary.

.. the story continues...

CHAPTER FOUR.
"She is calling." Duke slowly announced. The ongoing silence increased to the kind found only at a cemetery. Duke slowly took time to watch the mood of the family members through their facial expressions. He tried to establish a single meaning from the different looks but couldn't. To him, there was only one single way to find out if Mary has really changed or still on her game of lovingly robbing men off their wealth, and that was by talking to her. He reached for the phone but before he could pick up, the call dropped. He sighed and relaxed back on his chair. The silence was getting way too long and uncomfortable. Paul was struggling in his mind about what they made of his story. Nobody was saying anything so he couldn't tell if they actually believed him or not. However, he decided to keep calm, with the gratifying feeling that he had done his part trying to protect his kid brother from danger. It was now left for Duke, who was old enough to take responsibilities of his actions.
Kate and Evelyn were completely lost. Being the only women in the house, they were more captivated in discovering the true nature of the present women of which Mary epitomizes. Kate who had counselled her daughter so many times to strive for independence from men was caught up with the weird thought of the possibility of her daughter being the same as Mary. Evelyn did not know what to feel. She was kind of happy that a woman out there was bold enough to deal with the stupid and irresponsible men who poses as sheep while being wolves but then again, the fact that her two brothers, who she could swear are the nicest of all men were being affected made her want to fight back. Feeling splenetically confused about the whole thing, she quietly stood up from the table and went to the kitchen.
Again the phone rang. Duke rushed to it like he had been waiting for the call, which actually was true.
"Don't pick it." Donald who had been silently staring at everyone commanded. The tone with which he said that was the kind heard only when he is angry or serious about an issue. Even if the shackles of love still were holding Duke which could lead to him disobeying his father, the commanding tone sent shivers down his spine that he withdrew out of shock.
"Let him answer her dad." Paul posed. "He will be more convinced hearing from the horse's mouth."
"Paul is right dad. Let him talk to her." Evelyn supported as she stood by the kitchen door holding a plate. With the fork which she was holding on her left hand, she picked a meat from the plate into her mouth revealing to Kate what she had gone into the kitchen for. All things being equal, she would have been blessed with a scold but Kate was not presently in that mood so she joyously walked back to her seat.
"Alright, but I want to hear every word of hers." Donald concurred.
Duke got the message and his anxiousness of talking to Mary made him not to argue. He quickly picked the call and pressed the speaker button.
"Hello Sweetheart!" Mary's voice on the phone cracked.
"Where are you Mary? I was calling you... "
"I am sorry you have to find out this way." She interrupted with a voice so cracked up that they all had to stretch their ears closer to the phone to hear her clearly.
"What are you talking about Mary? I don't understand." Duke replied.
Paul and Donald coincidentally looked at Duke. Both of them understood instantly the game he was trying to play. Donald was happy that such smartness was still found in his son's head despite everything. Paul on the other hand was glad that at least his brother has shown his belief in his story. Donald's eyes met with that of Duke's and he gestured him to continue.
"I swear it was all in the past. I am a changed person now. And honestly, I never knew Paul was your brother." Mary's voice came once again.
"You know Paul? From where? And what was in the past?" Duke asked again.
"Are you saying he didn't tell you anything about me? Paul your brother has not told you anything?" Mary asked.
They could hear the relaxing nature of her tone. Apparently she was a bit relieved with the thought that Paul did not wash her dirty linen in the public. "No he did not." Rejoined Duke. "But now that we've started, what is it you did? Where did you know him from?" Duke asked.
“Where are you? Are you alone?" Mary inquired.
Duke looked around to attest the stand and mood of his family. Paul nodded at him just after Donald had done same.
"Yes. I am alone. Since you strangely ran away from the dinner, I decided to lock myself up in the room." Duke said.
"Promise me, you won't get mad, promise me you won't call off the engagement no matter what I tell you?"
"Common sweetheart, I won't do that. You know I love you, just tell me what it is."
"I would prefer we talk face to face. It would be better. Tell me a place and I will come there so we can talk please."
Duke became confusedly shocked. The game was getting way too far for him to handle. He had wanted Mary to openly confess to the crime but she instead demanded a private audience with him. He could see his dad miming to him to decline the request but a part of him kicked against his father’s orders; the little part that was still in love with Mary. He looked at his family’s still emotions and being aware that nobody would say anything, at least not on the course of the call, he said; "Alright." and quickly dropped the call knowing that chaos would be his guest immediately.
"What?" Kate shouted. "Are you insane?"
"Did you just agree on a date with the devil's sister?" Evelyn added trying not to choke on her meat.
Donald could not say anything; he was as shocked and disappointed as Paul.
"Look I know what you all are thinking." Duke felt the need to explain.
“No!” Paul cut in. “You have no idea what we are thinking. How could you even...” "This is what I must do.” He interrupted. “Even if I have to break up with her at least let me do it in a mature way. Brother, I heard what you said and I want you to know that with the little conversation I had with her right now, I believed you and I am grateful for the information, but please, you all have to trust me on this. Please." He concluded. He waited for a supportive response which did not come. "I guess that’s it," He said as he stood up to leave. "All on my own now but I will be back before you all know it."
"Duke" Donald called. Duke stopped abruptly. His heart started beating faster. His father had been extremely silent and he was not finding it funny. As he stopped, he muttered a prayer against his father’s intention of stopping him; an order he knew he would not dare to defy. "Be wise and do not drive" Donald advised as he stood up from his chair and went upstairs. Duke stared at his back for a while with a joyous heart, and when he could not see him again, he muttered, "I will Dad." For the very last time, he looked at his mother, his brother and his sister, then gently tossed his car keys on the table and left.

The story continues.....

CHAPTER FIVE
Paul stood up and picked his car keys. "I have done my part as a brother. He has his part to do. I am leaving, my wife would have returned from her father's house." He made for the door but halted abruptly, “And nobody should for whatever reason call me on this matter again.” He left.
Speechlessly Kate felt her family was crashing before her. A thought she tried so hard to shake off, but the more she tried to override it, the more real it gets. Finally she managed to divert her aporia to Evelyn.
"What were you thinking dishing only meat from the pot?"
"Calm down mum." Evelyn distorted as she understood what her mother was trying to do. "I am not the cause of the problem. But not to worry, Duke will take care it, I trust him. As for the meat, I needed to keep myself busy. The whole thing was just too messy, confusing and irritating; Duke planning to marry a girl Paul had dated? I couldn't bear it mum. I needed a little bit of distraction." Kate looked at her, sighed and walked away so sadly.
As Duke dashed out of the house into the street, his mind cerebrated on the most conducive and comfy place for the mind changing chat he was about to have with his fiancée. He however lost the war as he did not come up with any plan. Then he decided to keep going with the hope that a better plan will come up along the way. He flagged down a taxi, entered and shut the door.
“Where to my brother?" The driver asked after seconds of no order from him.
"Where would you like to settle an argument with the one you love; a comfy and conducive place?" Duke asked after much thought.
The driver was shocked at such question. He never imagined that somebody could sanely leave his house with no knowledge of where he or she is going. He glanced at Duke confusedly.
"Any idea?" Duke asked again impatiently. The driver shook his head with a wild smirk. Duke felt disappointed. He had placed all his hope on him but since he could not help, he decided to try the most popular bar in town. But before he could make his intentions known to him, the driver opened up.
"You really do love her, don't you?" Duke looked at him confused, he felt the question was really unnecessary at that present lay of the land. "Don't worry. I know you do." The driver continued without waiting for an answer. "I will take you to a place where you can see the better parts of your woman and get to appreciate her." He concluded, turned on the ignition and drove off.
Helplessly, Duke relaxed at the back seat trusting on the driver's instinct. They had driven some distance when Duke realized that he needed to forward the address of the rendezvous to Mary.
"If you can tell me the exact place we are going so I can text the address to my girl; it would be nice." Duke slowly said. The driver cleared his throat in a suspicious manner. Duke's mind skipped. He had heard scary and terrible stories about kidnappers and how they operate. In fact, his colleague in the office just got released after his family had paid a huge ransom of five million naira. He became unstable and restless. Fear gripped him. "What is your registration number?" He asked the driver. The driver smiled in a yet another suspicious way which got Duke more scared and uncomfortable.
"You think I am going to kidnap you, don’t you?" The driver asked in a disappointed tone. "Wake up brother; I am way bigger than that. I might be a bad guy but not to that extent. So..."
"Just tell me your registration number or you pull over." Duke interrupted with sweaty face.
"You know, I don't believe in love," The driver verbalized neglecting what Duke had ordered. "I have many of them and no matter what happens I keep them all under my game. It is foolish really, falling all over one girl is really foolish. All a man needs is sex, and there are thousand and one girls willing to give you that. So stop being paranoid and be a man. Have sex with her and let her go. Trust me, you will find a better one." The driver lectured.
Duke had kept mute and attentive trying to figure out the sense in the nonsense the man just puffed out. "That's being a boy not being a man" He replied "A real man remains faithful to his woman, singular not plural. STDs are everywhere, you could contract one if you're not careful. And for records sake, she is my wife to be, not a girlfriend, and yes, I really do love her." Duke added with a little bit of satisfaction that he had tried his best in converting a poor soul. "Well said bro." The driver said. "But mind you, women are the most complicated and dubious being on earth. They are wolves in sheep's clothing." He paused and then added, "for records sake too, they can kill you even without touching you. They are lethal; a word I learned from one of them."
Duke almost chortled at the man's foolish wisdom, but he did not so he would not give him the impression that he was relaxed. He quickly scowled. "So tell me where we are going to or I will draw the attention of the police." Instantly the car stopped. "There won’t be any need for that." The driver said. Duke looked out of the window and saw a glasshouse of about six floors, he knew that building, but going there was the last thing on his mind.
"I didn't tell you I was looking for a hotel. Why did you bring me here?" He hollered.
"What? I did what you asked me to. You asked for a conducive and comfy place and this is it, conducive and comfy." Replied the driver. "Now if you can alight and give me my money peacefully, it would be nice too." He quickly added imitating Duke’s earlier words
Duke was annoyingly confused. He was looking at a five star hotel where everything goes for double of their normal price. He quickly checked his wallet for his credit card and luckily it was intact. He slowly brought out his phone and texted Mary the name of the hotel. "How much is it?" He asked the driver. “Two thousand five hundred naira only" the driver bluntly said stressing the 'only'.
Duke was mad. He suddenly started to discern his initial false moves. If only he had cooled down, he would have thought of a better place, and his father would not have ordered him not to drive. He shook his head and resolved to let go since he had a bigger problem to still. He pulled out three pieces of one thousand naira notes from his wallet and gave the driver. The driver smiled and returned a balance of five hundred naira to him. Duke opened the door and stepped out. "Take a room and make it worthwhile, even if you end up apart, you wouldn’t entirely lose." The driver phonated to Duke who had stood at a standstill the moment he heard his voice. Duke shook his head. "You need to grow up boy." He shouted back at him and walked into the reception area of the hotel. He was amazed at the architectural design of the hotel. It was a glasshouse both outside and inside. As he walked in, he saw his refection on the walls which was carefully designed with glasses to bring out the reflective beauty of human nature. He had really never been to a hotel except on an official visit, so he knew nothing about how things work in it. Looking forward, he discovered a place he figured might be the receptionist’s cubicle. He advanced and saw a young and beautiful lady who was smartly dressed in a white shirt on top black pants with a red bow tie. She was fair with her braided hair resting on her shoulders. Her face wore a charming smile which revealed beautiful dimples Duke could not help but notice. He reciprocated to the lady’s smile.
"Good evening sir, you are welcome to the Grand Eglin Hotels and Towers. How can I help you?" The lady recited like something she crammed, with a smile all over her. Her voice was angelic.
Duke got captivated. "Yeah. Can I... ermm....where is your bar?" He stammered.
"We actually have three bars sir; general bar is on the first floor, executive is on the second floor and the third one is by the pool. So which one sir." The lady explained.
Duke was indecisive. He imagined the crowd associated with bars coupled with the music which he did not know how loud it might be. Then he remembered the advice of the taxi driver. He definitely was not going to have sex with Mary but he figured a room would be better to get the full attention he wanted. "I will just take a room." He concluded as he slipped his credit card to her. "The least of the most conducive ones." He added.
"That would be twelve thousand naira per night sir." The lady said revealing again her white teeth. "Just run the card." He responded. The lady quickly processed the information and gave him a key. She called another worker who was to help Duke locate his room. As they moved, Duke turned to the lady, "A young woman by the name Mary would come to see me." The lady nodded as Duke left with the porter.
When Duke ambulated into the room, he had no doubt that the room's tariff was not a waste. He was thrilled, but most importantly calmed by the romantic and cosy atmosphere in the room. The 32inch television which hung on the wall was showing a Nigerian movie on the popular African Magic channel. He looked for the remote control which the porter had turned the television on with and saw it on the glass side stool beside the bed. He picked it and turned off the television. He needed to concentrate and the movie was only distractive. He inhaled and exhaled as he sat on the bed adorned with a white bed sheet and four pillows rehearsing in his mind the best way he would approach Mary. He tried very hard to take his mind off the environment which was making his rehearsal all romantic and focus on the situation that brought him there, but the more he tried, the more the ambiance corrupts his mind. He believed his brother and so he tried building strong walls against his emotions but a part of him kept crashing those walls even before they were built. He just did not understand what was happening to him. Confusion became his companion; if he married Mary, his family would never be the same again and he wouldn’t want that, but then again, a part of him still believed in forgiveness.

... the story continues...